The Origins Of Psychology Flashcards
Who’s the researcher?
Wilhelm Wundt - published the first book on psychology ‘Principles of Physiologic Psychology’ which established psychology as unique branch of science
What was Wundt’s aim?
To study the structure of the human mind, and he believed that the best way to do this was to break down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements.
What was Wundt’s appraoch referred to as?
Structuralism
What was Wundt’s technique referred to as?
Introspection - The process where a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional state as a result of the examination or observation of their conscious thoughts and feelings.
What did Wundt learn about higher mental processes?
Things such as language and emotions. They could not be investigated in a strict controlled manner and could instead be described in terms of general trends in behaviour among groups of people (culture psychology).
What did Wundt claim about introspection?
With sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed systematically as they occured using introspection.
What is empiricism?
The belief that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone.
What are the two major assumptions in empiricism?
• Determinism: All behaviour is seen as being caused
• Predictability: If behaviour is determined, it dhould be possible to predict behaviour in different conditions.
What is the scientific method?
The use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable. It is objective (no biases), and systematic (carried out in orderly fashion).
What is the scientific cycle?
Objectice, systematic and replicable observation -> Building, refining or falsifying -> Development of a scientific theory -> Testing
What is one criticism of Wundt?
Introspection is not particularly accurate - Nisbett and Wilson claim that we have very little knowledge of the causes of (and processes underlying) our behaviour and attitudes so as they exist outside of consciousness, introspection would not uncover them.
What is one strength of Wundt?
Introspection is still useful in scientific psychology - Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter used introspective methods as a way of making ‘happiness’ a measurable phenomenon by giving a group of teenagers beepers that went off during the day for them to write down their thoughts and feelings. Showed that the teens were unhappy but more upbeat when focussed on a challenging task.
